Chingari Koi Bhadke (Lyrics – Translation)

Song By KISHORE KUMAR

Chingaaree koee bhadake,

If a spark begins to flare

toh saawan use bujhaaye

then the rain douses it out

saawan jo agan lagaaye,

But if the rain is the one setting fire

use kaun bujhaaye

who shall douse it?

.

Patajhad jo baag ujaade,

When autumn uproots a garden

wo baag bahaar khilaaye

Spring makes that garden bloom

jo baag bahaar mein ujade,

But the garden that withers in spring

use kaun khilaaye?

Who shall make it bloom?

.

Hum se mat poochho kaise,

Do not ask of me, how

mandir tootaa sapanon kaa

the temple made of (my) dreams was broken

logon kee baat naheen hai,

This doesn’t concern the public

ye kissaa hain apanon kaa

This is a tale of those that are ours.

.

Koee dushman thhais lagaaye,

When some enemy causes an injury

toh meet jiyaa bahalaaye

then a friend cheers the spirit

manameet jo ghaav lagaaye,

but if a close friend is the one inflicting the wound

use kaun mitaye?

who shall erase it?

.

Naa jaane kyaa ho jaataa,

Don’t know what would have ended up happening

jaane hum kyaa kar jaate

Who knows what we would have gone and done

peete hain to zindaa hain,

As long as we’re drinking, we’re alive

naa peete to mar jaate

If we didn’t drink, then we would die

.

Duniyaa jo pyaasaa rakhe,

When the world keeps you thirsty

toh madiraa pyaas bujhaaye

then wine quenches that thirst

madiraa jo pyaas lagaaye,

but if the wine is what makes you thirsty

use kaun bujhaaye?

Then what shall douse it?

.

Maanaa toofaan ke aage,

Agreed that in the face of a storm

naheen chaltaa zor kisee kaa

no one’s will/force really works

maujon kaa dosh naheen hai,

But this is not the fault of the waves

ye dosh hai aur kisee kaa

This fault is someone else’s.

.

Majadhaar mein naiyyaa doobe,

If midstream, a boat begins to sink

toh majhee paar lagaaye

then the oarsman shall bring it to the shore

maajhee jo naaw duboye

but if the oarsman sinks the boat

use kaun bachaaye?

who shall save it?

Watching My Step

What is given freely must be valued most;
Everything else nears worthlessness,
no matter how necessary or satisfying.
the rest is just countertransference.

And if you feel this is not the case,
perhaps it’s time to determine
the intentions behind your own actions.
Perhaps you, too, are overburdened

Are you guilty of pretty lies?
That you dress up in dreams and desire
Perhaps, your soul is dark, and craven
Perhaps, my child, you still fear the fire

Do you hear these halting words of mine?
Well, their pauses are not meant for me
I am cursed to wander prisons of my own design
Plotting all-failing ways to be free

But, I know this now: I shall always lose
for my will only forges chains, no wings
And my spirit has been atrophying so long
I doubt she remembers how to sing

This ugly rhyme is testament
to the burden that I alone must bear
I used to be beautiful, golden
Now I am graying, and no longer care

Oh, but don’t put out this fire, fire
Let me burn now, until the ultimate end
There are a million manic moths out there
But only fire is the Devil’s truest friend.

Note: I hate this! Needs to be fixed..

To Stay or To Go

What do you do when faced with life’s most persistent question: Stay or Go?

To Stay would mean swallowing your pride, perhaps even apologizing. Staying would mean trying to forget the shape and color of the knife that you barely managed to pull out of your throat. Staying means lowering your voice, walking on eggshells, and never being able to find the level of happiness you knew before you learnt that it could all be too easily destroyed. Staying means betraying yourself, with sugar-coated lies, and reassurances that your mind whispers to you all day long. Things were different back then. He didn’t mean it. This time is different. Staying means the constant reminder of the time you were confused, like a song that you had to train yourself not to cry at, or a milkshake that you had to stop drinking because it reminded you of him. Staying is pain.

To go would mean having the opportunity to start over. Leaving will allow you to relearn things, experience them all – all over again – with someone new. Leavng means being able to say at the very begnning, “Don’t hang up on me. I fucking hate people who do that.” Leaving means being free to pick a new favorite flavor of ice-cream, a new favorite song, even a new favorite scene from any move you like. Leaving means new adventures, new faces, new reasons to laugh and rejoice and celebrate life. Leaving shows you that you’re stronger than anything life may throw in your path. Leaving assures you that you’re still what’s most important to you – something that’s a lot more necessary than one might think. Leaving means movng on, forging your own path, letting go, growing up, seizing the day.

…

But, leaving can also be cold.. especially when everywhere else in the World seems dark and lightless. And when your very being likes where it is, leaving isn’t so much about moving forward, as it is about grabbing on to soul’s soft hair, and wrenching it out of its warm bath, only to drag it far and beyond everything it has known and grown to love. Leaving is about goodbyes that you *have* to say, and more importantly, goodbyes that you do not know how to say. About farewells that find you kicking and screaming as you try to hang on, and those that are so exhausting that they leave you curled up in a corner, too tired to even cry. Leaving involves the long walk down the driveway, every step of which is wracked with guilt, blame and regret. With doubts and despair. With the sinking feeling you get when you realize that it doesn’t matter how much time, effort, money or love you put into whatever it was that you must now say goodbye to – it clearly wasn’t enough. Not good enough. You weren’t good enough. Leaving is about accepting defeat, and moving on.

Yet, sometimes you have to linger.. Whether it be by your pool, or by the flowers you so painstakingly planted, even if it is for no other reason than to see them bloom. Even if they aren’t even your flowers anymore. Even if the Sun shines hurtfully, or you’re trapped in the pouring rain, or it begins to snow.. Staying doesn’t need the rewards leaving gives you, because being able to stay is by itself a reward. It gives you time to say your proper goodbyes, to apologize to those that hurt you, to kiss the pet animals you’ve rescued over the years, and tell the children to be good, and to pack up the things you know you’ll need, and pack away the things that have outlived their purpose. Staying, whether it be for minutes, months or years, acknowledges the time you spent trying to build up this castle for your spirit. It accepts the apologies you’re compelled to make every  time you see a crack in the wall. It teaches you how you could have done things differently, and how you could have saved it all.

~

Only thing to remember is not to linger too long.

Because your soul needs its hot water bath and familiar surroundings, even if you have to build them up from scratch.

Your soul needs the reassurance of knowing that you won’t be kicked out to the curb again.

Your soul needs a place to plant flowers, and giggle deliriously and be kissed by someone who cares about you so very much, that they would never ever leave you out in the cold.

Don’t linger too long. Your soul deserves better.

Anguish

do i really mean that little to you?

Spellbound: A Tale of Wind and Fire

Freedom is exhausting

sighed the flame to the warm winter breeze

Please, scoffed the wispy wind

Like you know what it’s like to be free!

Of course I do, said the incensed flame

Boy, you don’t have a clue

and in a puff of indignation

Once shimmered, then withdrew.

It’s not that I don’t trust you,

said the Wind after a long pause

It’s just that you’re my sister,

and you tend to love things with claws

So what if I do, snarled the flame

accidentally setting things on fire

I thought freedom was all about

doing whatever your heart desires!

Stop that, said the wind, alarmed,

puffing after scattered embers

Burn the whole place down if you like

but even the Earth remembers!

You say now that you like it here,

but don’t notice your voice is fading

and every vow there was ever to keep

you’ve already thought of betraying!

So, tell me that you need to stay

and I won’t force you to leave..

but don’t tell me it makes you glad

It’s too much for me to believe!

The flame sputtered, then began to fade

as the wind floated on gently down

I didn’t mean to make you sad

I’m just tired of watching you drown.

.

Don’t you see how deep I’ve fallen

quietly said the spirit of fire

and all I can do is burn and burn

to the end of my heart’s desire

There’s always a way, said the windy faye

if you’d just stop burning to see

The World is wide, and we are young

And you were born to burn free!

But then something dark and twisted

crawled slowly within the hill,

the fiery faye crouched to the ground

and bade the wind to be still

I need some time, fiercely hissed the flame

This is just something I must do

There are things that need to be sorted out

And secrets I cannot even tell you

Abandon your quest, sister dear

vehemently whispered the wiser wind

As the flame circled the darkness below

and then looked up one last time to grin

No! cried out the willful wind

as the night came between the friends

And the flame’s parting words

echoed like some lost sentence

The lies are lies, and the truth is truth

Sister, there is no choice to make

I willingly gave all that I did

and what’s left is mine to take

And the wind, she howled, in a voice so fine

that even the Earth did shake

for what’s born of fire cannot be undone

but even the strongest spell can break.